Lima on the Pacific Coast

The capital of Peru, Lima lies on the arid Pacific coast. It is one of South America’s largest cities.

Plaza de Armas is also known as Plaza Mayor is a broad square and the historical center of Lima. Even though most of the buildings from the original city were lost in an earthquake in 1746 there is an original structure remaining – the bronze fountain in the center, built in 1651. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The square is surrounded by the Archbishop’s Palace,

the Casa del Oidor, and

the Palacio del Gobierno, the official residence of the president. It was built on the spot where Jose San Martin declared the Independence of Peru on July 28, 1821. On weekends at noon, you can see the changing of the guard.

Pedestrian-only Jiron de la Union leading from Plaza de Armas to Plaza San Martin is a mix of old and new buildings.

You can see the La Merced church, completed in the late 1700s and

Casa de Aliaga, one of the oldest and best preserved colonial mansion in South America. It has been occupied by the Aliaga family since 1535, handed down through 17 generations, making it the oldest home in South America owned and occupied by a single family. By advanced reservation, you can get a guided tour to see colonial style furnishing from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

Lima’s Cathedral dominates the east side of the Plaza de Armas. This cathedral was designed after the cathedral in Seville, Spain. There is an impressively carved choir, a carving of Jesus in the chapel of St. John the Baptist and the altars in the ornate Spanish Baroque style known as churrigueresque. A chapel that has been decorated with mosaics has the tomb of Francisco Pizarro, the founder of Lima. At the back of the cathedral, you’ll find a small Museum of Religious Art. In the courtyard is a tea room in which you can relax.

Convento de San Francisco is best known for the catacombs, containing the bones of about 10,000 people interred here when this was Lima’ first cemetery. Below the church, there is a maze of narrow hallways, lined on both sides with bones.

In one area, a large round hole is filled with bones and skulls that have been arranged in a geometrical pattern.

The library on the upper level has thousands of antique books and the monastery has an impressive collection of religious art. There is a mural of the Last Supper that depicts the apostles dining on a guinea pig, with a devil standing next to Judas. This is one of the city’s best preserved colonial churches.

The neighborhood of Miraflores is located on cliffs overlooking the ocean, just south of central Lima. It has a mix of modern glass-and-steel commercial buildings, old colonial homes and plenty of green space. Here you will find top of the line shops and restaurants serving the “New Peruvian” cuisine. You can see hang gliders gliding off of the cliffs above the water.

Museo Amano is home to a private collection of Peruvian ceramics and textiles all arranged chronologically. Here Pre-Columbian cultures are well represented. The museum is best known for its impressive collection of textiles from the Chancay culture of the northern coast. Tours have to be booked in advance.

Huaca Pucllana is a pyramid-shaped temple right in the heart of Miraflores. It was built of adobe and clay bricks and formed in seven staggered platforms.

The pyramid was built by The Lima Culture that developed on the central coast of Peru between AD 200 and AD 700. The area is divided into two sections, one appears to have been used for offerings of fish, while the other appears to have been administrative. Tours of the complex must be taken with a guide.

Museo de la Nacion or National Museum is the largest museum in Lima. Here you can explore Peru’s ancient history and get an understanding of Peruvian culture. The museum covers the entire archeological history of Peru, from the first inhabitants to the Inca Empire. There are exhibits of ceramics and textiles as well as scale models of such archeological sites as Machu Picchu and the Nazca lines. Most of the displays are labeled and described in English and Spanish.

Santo Domingo is a church and monastery that was built in 1540. It is one of the oldest and most historic in Lima. Here visitors can find the relics of Saint Rose of Lima, San Juan Masias and Saint Martin de Porres, the first black saint in the Americas.

The statue of Saint Rose was given to Santo Domingo by Pope Clement X. The monastery is best known for its tile mosaics which depict the life of St. Dominic.